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I am the chairperson for the AACC's Fish Show, and I just wanted to remind you all about this event. The Catfish Convention features not one but TWO fish shows, running concurrently. Both shows have great prizes available!

The first show is the Catfish Show, which is -- believe it or not -- limited to Catfishes. There are three classes in it, for Loricaridae (Plecos and Relatives), Calichthyids (Corydoras and relatives), and All Other Catfishes. The Grand Prize in this show is a beautiful sculpted plaque by famed artist Brian Walsh. I won't tell you what it is ... but, well, it is a catfish show (hint: It's not the Eiffel Tower). This goes to the Best In Show. The Reserve In Show (basically second place) will like-wise be another carving, and, of course, there are prizes for each of the classes as well.

Secondly, there is a show for Everyone Else. There are classes for Livebearers, and blah blah blah, what do you guys care? There are classes for Cichlids! This has been sanctioned by the ACA, so you can win a giant medallion made of solid gold and chocolate. Currently, the cichlid class is divided into the following groups:

And then there is our new class, for Freshwater Ornamental Invertebrates -- show us your coolest shrimp, your neatest Nerite, your best Giant Water Bug. (Please note, that Virginia state regulations prohibit the importation of crawfish into the state of Virginia: they are excluded from the show, currently).

And, last but not least, there is a class for artwork and photos.

Please note that PVAS reserves the right to merge or split classes as entries come in. Any classes with few entries may be merged, and any classes with a "plethora" of entries may be split -- I know that a few CCA people have their eyebrows raised that all Rift Lake Cichlids are clumped together. If there are too many entries in that category and enough from Tanganyika and Malawi to warrant their own class, I will do it. I swear, man, I'll do it! Try me!

Registration costs $4 for each fish entered, up to 10. After that, it's free. So, enter as many as possible.

This show differs from shows in the past in that there are NO AT THE DOOR REGISTRATION. Registration is ONLY by mail, phone, or online. You MUST register by 11:59 PM on the 11th! That's 9 days away. DO IT NOW.

I don't know who you are, I don't know why you're not entering fish. What we do have is a very excellent fish show, a show with incredibly cool prizes, prizes we have acquired over several months. Prizes from talented artist Brian Walsh. If everyone enters fish now, that will be the end of it. I will not post anything more. I will not bother you. But, if you do not enter fish, I will look for you. I will find you. And I will take your fish and enter them myself.

Having a fish show in our backyard....like Pat said, is a great opportunity for new folks to test the waters in entering fish. (I took one to Indy this year... this is much easier, lol).

I've talked to a few folks about entering. I'd love to see a big turnout - especially in the catfish area. It is after all, the CATFISH Convention. Besides some really nice plecos, we have a lot of really cool Synodontis in our club and wouldn't be surprised if this was another class to itself if we have a nice turnout.

Mature fish are preferred in any show. One of the judging conditions is "size," and ... if your fish should be 6" long and is only 1" long, it loses some points. As a result, it probably won't win. (Now, that said, it COULD win. If it had really awesome colour, deportment, etc., etc., and was mostly grown .... Maximum size varies in fish, and ones that are almost mature won't be judged too poorly. )

You can enter fish and not stick around for the rest of the show, but I wouldn't recommend it. A fish show can be very stressful, and if something happens ... and you're not around ... Plus, what's the fun of not being around for the awards banquet if you win something?!

The judging tanks are bare. This is to keep the competition fair -- the tanks have to be equal. In the case of some very shy fish, this can be troublesome, but most will handle it pretty well. They're not in there for long, and you can get them out as soon as judging is over (another reason to stay around!). The exception is inverts, such as shrimp, which will panic and die without something to cling to. They can have a small piece of natural plant in there to help out. But, if they hide, and can't be judged...... they can't be judged.

You can also get your fish ready with training.I always put my show fish in bare tanks about a month before the show so they get used to being alone. I also don't feed them as much so that when they see a person in front of the tank they think food and swim to the front.May be a little harder to do with plecos I would guess.

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For the love of fish!Join a club today.The CCA A Growing Force in the Cichlid Hobby.

Mature fish are preferred in any show. One of the judging conditions is "size," and ... if your fish should be 6" long and is only 1" long, it loses some points. As a result, it probably won't win. (Now, that said, it COULD win. If it had really awesome colour, deportment, etc., etc., and was mostly grown .... Maximum size varies in fish, and ones that are almost mature won't be judged too poorly. )

You can enter fish and not stick around for the rest of the show, but I wouldn't recommend it. A fish show can be very stressful, and if something happens ... and you're not around ... Plus, what's the fun of not being around for the awards banquet if you win something?!

The judging tanks are bare. This is to keep the competition fair -- the tanks have to be equal. In the case of some very shy fish, this can be troublesome, but most will handle it pretty well. They're not in there for long, and you can get them out as soon as judging is over (another reason to stay around!). The exception is inverts, such as shrimp, which will panic and die without something to cling to. They can have a small piece of natural plant in there to help out. But, if they hide, and can't be judged...... they can't be judged.

I spoke with Josh W (future PVAS presidente) yesterday and we have come to an agreement.I am 100% sure that a CCA member will enter a fish that takes home the Best-in-Show award. Apparently, Josh thinks that this honor will go to a PVAs member.

Well, we're going to settle this like adults and place a little wager....

Our two clubs are both putting $100 on the line. WHEN a CCA member win Best-in-Show, then PVAS will donate $100 to CCA to go towards the charity of CCA's choice. Conversely, in the unlikely event that the Best-in-Show fish be entered by a PVAs member, then CCA will donate the money to PVAS to go toward the charity of their choice.

Should a fish win entered by a member of both clubs, then we both donate $50 towards our favorite charity.

The same happens if a non-member of either club takes home the trophy (though at that point, we will collective hang our heads - and get this individual to join up, lol).

So yeah, let's show these "Southerners" what the greatest cichlid club in the world has in our fish rooms!

Remember guys - Registration closes on October 11, so get your entries in!

Gee Matt - guess no one ever thought to go look at the rules and information for the convention - really makes me wonder when so many folks ask questions that are already covered in the ground rules or have already been answered 10 times on the forum - and at least once (normally) in the current thread. I was going to post the link to the convention info but got busy with something and did not - Thanks for posting the link.

Is this the Best of show Catfish or other.The Potomac Valley Aquarium Society is once again preparing for a spectacular display of tropical fish competing for awards and bragging rights as we will have our annual Fish Show as part of AACC12. As in the previous Catfish Conventions, there will be both a separate Catfish Show and an All-Freshwater Species Show, all on display together but with a Best of Show presented to the finest fish in each one.

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For the love of fish!Join a club today.The CCA A Growing Force in the Cichlid Hobby.